About 28% of homes sold in the San Francisco metropolitan area from January to March went not to individuals but to LLCs, corporations and trusts, according to an analysis of property records by Redfin. That was the highest share since 2000, the furthest back the real estate brokerage’s data goes, and a more than 3 percentage-point increase from the same period in 2025.
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Redfin, which defines these buyers as investors, noted a recent report that the rise is striking considering investor purchases of homes in the U.S. overall have fallen to their lowest level since 2020. The company said a nationwide cooling of both home prices and rents caused investors to retreat from the market, potentially loosening competition for individual buyers. The fact that investors are becoming more active in the San Francisco metro area — which Redfin defines as San Francisco and San Mateo counties — is a sign of the market’s resurgence.
These entities have especially expanded their market share in the condominium market, doubling their share of condos and co-ops purchased in the San Francisco metro area from 15% in 2022 to 29% in 2026.
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But some real estate agents argue that Redfin’s data doesn’t mean institutional investors are snatching up properties in the Bay Area. Other dataindicates that these investors own a relatively small share of residences in the Bay Area, especially compared to the Sun Belt — where, ironically, Redfin’s data suggests they’ve pulled back the most from sales. Instead, said Compass real estate agent Amanda Jones, Redfin is picking up on a buyer trend toward privacy.
Property record data, which Redfin uses for its analysis and is generally available to the public, lists the owner’s name. Between that and online access to property listing images, Jones added, “it feels like living in a home with no shades and all the lights on.”…